Greater Short-toed Lark . Not as common a bird as the Crested Lark, and the Greater Hoopoe-Lark European Bee-eaters have now also arrived on the scene Here a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater has caught a juicy locust An immature male Western Marsh Harrier flies overhead, scanning for prey below Here an Indian Reed Warbler (Clamorous Reed Warbler) has caught a nice juicy caterpillar The relaxed Lilith Owl gives me the eye A Spotted Flycatcher perched on a branch in the early morning light
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A very productive morning. 31 species seen, 3 new ticks for the patch, and signs of increased migration activity. Pacific Golden Plover. Seen here losing its summer plumage. A lifer for me and an addition to my Qatar list A juvenile Ruff Cattle Egret seen here with a Tasty Toad Take-away A Grey Heron circling overhead Yellow Wagtail. About 40 of these birds were present A Eurasian Curlew having just unearthed a tasty morsel. Other species include: Garganey (scarce), White-winged Tern, Masked Shrike, Whimbrel, Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Western Reef Heron, Crested Lark, Isabelline Wheatear, Barn Swallow, Little Stint, Black-winged Stilt, Green Sandpiper, Graceful Prinia, Lesser Sand Plover, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Eurasian Hoopoe, Common Greenshank, Grey Francolin and the rest.
I know this is not birding related, but this just goes to show what you can bump into whilst out there. I ran across these fine individuals in the far north of the country near Al Ruwais. An interesting fact of Goat Trivia is that they have several collective nouns including words like Tribe, Trip, Drove, Herd or Flock.
My favourite is Tribe, as it is very descriptive in this instance. This lot look ready to go to war to defend their meagre grazing resources Some images of Waders taken during the course of this week Black-winged Stilt. A non-breeding adult bird Common Sandpiper. Compare it with the Green and Wood Sandpipers below Green Sandpiper Wood Sandpiper A Lesser Sand Plover still showing breeding plumage Common Greenshank A Little Ringed Plover losing its breeding plumage
Whilst at the local patch the other day I tried to capture the fishing attempts of this Little Egret. I wanted try and get a complete action sequence. It turned out to be quite a challenge what with rapid explosive movement after periods of motionless posing. The bird would alternate between the still hunting method or dashing through the shallows trying to spear moving targets. In position, cocked and ready to fire A rapid lunge into the water Recoil with no fish A sheepish look at it recomposes itself Another attempt. Here a stealthy approach once more Cocked and ready to fire again Full neck lunge If you look carefully you can just about see the tiny fish it has caught
I am a glutton for punishment, so I spent another morning sitting in my mobile sauna (read vehicle) out on the farm. It turned out to be quite productive, so well worth the effort in the end There were several Ferruginous Ducks on one of the storage dams again. This time I managed to get an ID image as they took to flight. An obliging Lesser Kestrel in the early morning light One of two Spotted Flycatchers that I saw today. My first of this species for the Autumn Another first for this Autumn. An early arriving male Desert Wheatear My first image of an Indian Reed Warbler (Clamorous Reed Warbler) from the farm. They have been breeding in the reeds surrounding the storage dams A lovely sharp shot of a European Roller to improve on the image taken the other day
At the local patch yesterday the birds were busy filling their boots (crops in this instance). Here are some of the images I managed to get as they went about the business of catching birdy num-nums. Bonus points for correctly identifying the meals. Early in the morning with the dew still on the grass there were about 20 Wagtails feeding over a large area One of the early birds that did not get a worm Also in attendance were a few Lesser Sand Plovers. These are a new species for the local patch, bringing the total up to 84 ticks Here a Little Egret successfully spears a small fish in a nearby pond Not to be outdone, this Western Reef Heron also got in on the act
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